Protected blade



`une 7, 19,38.

-J. M. BOWEN PROTECTED BLADE Filed Sept. 17, 193s Patented June 7, 1938 UNITED STATS y i anges?,

PTEN'" FICE PROTECTED BLADE Application September 17, 1936, Serial No. 101,281

6 Claims.

This invention relates to the packaging of iineedged blades, such for example as safety razor blades. In one aspect it consists in a blade protected completely by a novel Wrapper of sheet material, and by completely I mean that the blade is fully enclosed at its ends, side edges and faces. In another aspect it consists in a method of protecting blades in that manner by assembling them in a novel manner with a wrapper having slots in certain of its folded-over portions.

In handling safety razor blades under commercial conditions of transportation and distribution and in the more or less casual treatment of such blades by the user, the extremely line, keen edge of the blade is likely to become dulled by being brought into contact with its wrapping either at a fold vertex or by being drawn across or cutting the wrapper in being removed therefrom. On this account the best and most skillful efforts of the manufacturer in sharpening blades are often brought to naught, because of the damage done to the fragile and delicate structure of the blade edge after it has been brought to the keenest possible shaving condition and before the shaving operation is actually undertaken.

With these conditions in- View an important object of the present invention Ais to provide a novel wrapper in which the blade may be fully enclosed and held positively in such position that its cutting edge is protected from al1 direct contact with the fold vertex lines of the wrapper. I have discovered that the desired results may be accomplished b-y slotting the end tabs of the wrapper so that the ends of the blade may be passed through them and so interlocked that transverse shifting of the blade in the wrapper is positively prevented. Then, by folding the side flaps of the wrapper on a line outside the sharp edge or edges of the blade the latter is held positively and at all times out of contact with the fold vertex lines of the wrapper. An important advantage of such a wrapper is that it obviates the use of spots of vaseline which have been relied upon heretofore to attach the blade to its Wrapper and thus prevent displacement therein. While such means are effective in general, they are sometimes Variably affected by hot Weather conditions and it is not always practical to keep automatic machinery as clean as desired when supplemented by a system for delivering melted vaseline.

The method of my invention is characterized by the steps of folding slotted end tabs of a Wrapper into upright and parallel relation, en-

tering the opposite ends of the blade into slots therein and then folding or closing the tabs, simultaneously causing the ends of the blade to pass through the slots and become superposed upon the outer faces of the tabs. Preferably 5 and as herein shown, side flaps of the wrapper are then folded to cover the ends of the blades which project through the tabs. An advantage of treating the wrapper in the manner outlined is that each end tab has a square fold extending fully across the wrapper blank so that the whole width thereof may be used in the holder to box up or position the wrapper and its end tabs. Moreover, since the corners of the body of the wrapper are maintained intact, the Wrapper itself may be accurately and positively located by pins set at the four corners of the blank.

Preferably the wrapper and blade are assembled by first turning up the end tabs of the blank so that the slots therein are located at substantially the same level, then locating the blade in alignment with the slots and subsequently closing the end tabs and simultaneously lowering the blade to the body of the wrapper with approximately a toggle action.

Both the wrapper and method of my invention may be employed with particular advantage in connection with blades provided with corner notches defining elongated unsharpened end p0rtions in the blade, since by the procedure outlined such a blade will interlock with the wrapper not only in a transverse sense but also in a longitudinal or endWise sense.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the 35 following description of one manner in which the method may be put into practice as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,-

Y Fig. l is a plan view of the Wrapper;

Fig. 2 is a View in perspective of a blade positioned above a partially folded Wrapper;

Fig. 3 is a corresponding View in front elevation, the blade and Wrapper being shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the Wrapper with its end tabs closed upon a blade; and

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the wrapper completel closed upon a blade, the latter being shown in dotted lines.

The wrapper blank, which may be made of thin sheet material such as oiled or waxed paper, as shown in Fig. l, comprises a rectangular body portion I0 scored to dene side flaps Il and l2 and end tabs I3. E'ach end tab tapers outwardly to a straight end edge and is provided with a V,transverse slotv I4. The slots are located entirely without or beyond the fold lines of the tabs and have inwardly tapering'end edges. The ref entrant angles `formed at the juncture of the side naps VII and I2 with the end tabs I3 supply to the lwrapper in 'automaticV machinery by a suction head 20 having nozzles which engage the surface of the blade at spaced points and maintain the blade in position by a vacuum createdV Vin the'head. The head is moved by mechanism,

not shown, to carry one blade after another from a stack in a magazine into position in alignment with Yand above successive wrappers'which may be presented by a rotary turretl or other mechanism. The preliminary position of the blade I5 with respect to the wrapper is shown in Figs. 2

and 3; Thebcdy'of they wrapper I5 and the side flaps Handl I2 are held. flat, or substantially so,

whilethe endV tabs I3 are turned' into upright and parallel' position, as indicated best in dotted linesinFig. 3.. In this condition the slotsY I4 are 1 brought to thesame level and the blade I 5 is positioned between and in alignment therewith. While the blade isso held the end tabsare bent simultaneously inwardly by a pair of blades 22 Vcarried respectively in the ends of bell crank levers 2I Varranged to .swing Vabout horizontal' studs 23 and connected together for simultaneous Ymovement bygear4 segments 24.

The preliminary Vaction'of the'blades 22 Vis tol swing the endtabs I3-inwardly until` the endV porf tions n of the blade have entered; the siete m therein. When thisV has onceftaken place the Y blade I5 is quickly lowered upon the face Vofthe wrapper I 0 and simultaneously 'the'end tabs I3 are'folded` inwardly,v the movement continuing withfa toggle action until the tabs I3 have been brought down into contact' with the upperV face of the blade I5 andthe ends I'l of the blade have passed fully through the slotsv I4 and lie i in contact with the upper face ofthe tabs. It

will' be seen that in this operation the'end edges of the shoulders formed by the notches I6 in the .blade are brought Ainto engagement with the material of theV end naps outside the two ends Y of jthe slots lI4 vand that thelongitudinal edgesof the shoulders in theV blades are interlocked with the end v'edges of the slots I4. VThe blade is thus held positively against both transverse or endwise movement. Subsequently, the side flaps Y II Vand I2 are folded'over the end tabsy on fold lines located Withoutl or beyond the sharpened edges of the blade and the Wrapping operation is thus completed.

Having thus Vdescribed my invention, I claim Yas new and desire to secure by Letters'Patent:'-V

1. `A safety razor bladel having shoulders and unsharpened end portions projectingbeyond the"Y Y shoulders, in combination with a protecting coverV having a body portion longer than the blade and.

end tabs folded on a line parallel to and sub-Y stantially beneath the ends of the blade, the tabs being slotted. whereby the unsharpend endsr'of'V the blade may project through the tabs up to the line of its shoulders. Y v Y 2. .A safety razor blade having shoulders and unsharpened end portions projecting beyond the Y same, in combination with a protecting cover. j

V'comprising a body portion as long as the blade'V and end' tabs with slots through 'which 'said end portions of the blade project, and side flaps arranged to cover the portions of the blade which project outside the end tabs. Y Y f 3. A protected blade having shouldered end portions, in combination with a Vwrapper having VVa body portion as long .as the blade and end tabs folded inwardly over theV blade on fold lines spaced apart by thefull length of the blade, theY tabs havingslots to receivethe end portions of. the blade, which slots are located nearer to-V gether in theclcsed wrapper than said fold lines.

. ll.r AY safety razor blade having corner notchesf deiining unsharpened-'end portions', in combination with a4 wrapper having a body Yportion as long as the. blade and tabs folded coincidently with the end edges of the blade and slotted so that the Vshoulders of the blade engage the .inner face of each tab and the end Vportions extend through the slots andV upon outerfaces of the tabs.

5. A safety razor bladehaving corner notches dening unsharpened end'portions, in combina--r tion with a'wrapper having a body 4portion as long as the blade'and tapering tabs folded coincidently their respective fold lines at a height leaving-at each end of the slotk material substantially equal to the width of a corner notch.V g i 6. A protected bladehaving a wrapper' with a .body portion longer than the over-all length of 'with the endY edges of the blade and slotted above and being covered Vby .the 

